S&L Podcast - #470 - Hammfisted
/The last new Terry Pratchett stories, the rise of nonsense literature, a brief intro to our September pick China Mountain Zhang, and final thoughts on Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.
WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?
Tom: Truffle Mac and Cheese
Veronica: Prosecco
QUICK BURNS
Francis x: The collection, titled A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories, will be published on 5th October 2023. This collection will be the final ever ‘new’ writing to be published
Jan: Ars Technica has a new article on "The strange, secretive world of North Korean science fiction"
Jan: Tor.com has a long article on the History of Dragons in Western Literature
Kevin: I'm halfway through Babel by R. F. Kuang and it is amazing. This lead me to learning more about Ms. Kuang and found this little blurb for her upcoming book "Katabasis" on Wikipedia, "Kuang reported that while working on her doctoral degree at Yale, she is also working on her sixth novel, a fantasy about two magical PhD students as they travel to Hell "to rescue the soul of their advisers so that they can write their job recommendation letters". In an interview with The Guardian, Kuang calls the project "nonsense literature"." CANNOT WAIT!
Mark: First-year Yale students warned about dark academia on arrival!
BARE YOUR SWORD
Jan:
Sorry that the Bramble was too sweet! Not a ChatGPT recipe though, it's my own spin on the classic Bramble. Maybe my blackberries are tarter than normal - or maybe I am just very, very sweet *g*
I think you could try it without any simple syrup if it's too sweet for you :-)
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Tassie Dave: S&L is almost 16 years old. (not 15)
I doubt you can get it there, but the best fish is Blue Eye Trevalla with Barramundi a close 2nd.
Trike wrote: "Good Omens season 2 is better than season 1, and I am unanimous in this. Because it’s 90% focused on Crowley and Aziraphale."
I agree. It is called out by the coffee shop owner, that they are like an old married couple. They are a delight in their scenes together.
Too much Hamm though. He is well-named. I am not a fan of his hammy acting style. 😕 I know I'm in the minority
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Hi Veronica!
yours is the email I have but if you could pass along a message to Tom, if he ever wants to get together and talk Kpop, I am so DOWN.
It's totally my secondary geekdom these days and no one ever wants to talk 2nd or 3rd gen with me.
Excited to learn about your Canadian relocation, hope it's going okay up there.
All the best,
Gail
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Tom, Veronica,
I'm probably the hundredth to mention this, but the lack of Mahi-Mahi on non-Hawaiian menus might also be influenced by confusion over the name.
When I was growing up I think Mahi-Mahi was nearly always listed on (Bahamian/Floridian) menus as Dolphin or sometimes Dolphinfish. More recently there has been a shift to calling it by its Hawaiian name (Mahi-Mahi) to avoid confusion with the marine mammals and to make it sound more exotic for the tourists. Wikipedia suggests that it's sometimes called Dorado although that same is shared with another golden fish.
As its range includes the Atlantic and Mediterranean I don't think there's any particular reason it would be listed as Mahi-Mahi by restaurants with English menus unless that restaurant has ties to Hawaii or is going out of their way to avoid conjuring thoughts of Flipper.
Thanks for so many wonderful episodes over the years. I hope there's many more to come.
Best regards,
Alan
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Kick Off
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
Katie: Don't forget to place requests with your library! If your library doesn't have it, most will have a form on the website, sometimes in Libby they use the tag "notify me" as a request or just talk to your librarian. They will often add a book to the collection if it seems there is enough interest.
Wrap Up
nightstorm: I finished this a few days ago, and I have to admit that I skimmed many of the middle chapters with lengthy explanations and focused mainly on the dialogue and murder investigation. This book was a mixed bag for me. There were some very memorable and evocative scenes, but I also felt like they were hit or miss. I wasn't a huge fan of Alex as a character, I know a big point of the book was her rough edges and headstrong actions, but it got a bit stomach training at times. I would have loved to see more of Dawes! I also thought the setting and plot used many familiar tropes, but maybe I just read too much fantasy!
Overall, maybe an average score? Didn't hate it, didn't love it, but there are several scenes that will stick with me for better or for worse...
Tassie Dave: I loved this book. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Alex is a great kick-ass character. Multi-layered and more complex than she seems at first. I went straight into Hell Bent.
Pat: I didn’t dislike this book, but I didn’t love it either. I enjoyed the flashbacks and character development, but couldn’t find myself all that invested in the mystery. The ending felt kind of predictable. I agree that I would like to see more Dawes, and I would enjoy seeing Alex and Darlington actually working together once she rescues him, but maybe not enough to read the sequel.
Pilchie: I liked that the answer to the whodunit was: Everyone! Also, it was clear early on that Belbalm was way too sus to not be involved somehow.
jasonb: I enjoyed this pick. And the ending was kind of obvious. I was already betting that Belbam was involved I just didn't realize how she was involved.
And that none of the characters knew she was from the very beginning.
John (Taloni): Apparently I am the only one who didn't think the ending was obvious. For my money the author stuck the landing like a gold-medal-winning Olympic gymnast.
Maybe it was the air of easy condescension from
Belbam, offering up a job and tutoring, then inviting Alex to a party OF COURSE to work because Alex knows her place, right?Iain: This book isn’t Dark Academia. It is Noir Mystical Academia.
If it was Dark Academia Dawes would be the main character and we would spend more time on research and with academics
ADDENDUMS
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